Seamless Migration from Universal Analytics to GA4 for an Airline Client

Our client is an airline operating throughout a well-known region, deeply rooted in the local culture and embodying the essential connection between various islands and among people. With numerous destinations across multiple archipelagos, this airline's routes form a network the size of Europe.

The airline operates separate websites servicing its domestic market as well as international markets in various languages. They rely on effective digital analytics measurement to inform and report on activity across various advertising platforms, such as Google Ads, to achieve their digital marketing goals.

With the migration from Universal Analytics to GA4, the airline sought a partner to manage the transition as smoothly as possible. Their ideal provider would possess deep expertise in GA4 to ensure all critical Universal Analytics tracking was replicated in GA4 and to leverage the full capabilities of the latest generation of Google Analytics.

KARL Mission fulfilled these requirements by providing an audit, gap analysis, tracking plan documentation, and full dashboard migration, ensuring a seamless reporting transition from UA to GA4.

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Project Overview

• Gap analysis of Universal Analytics vs GA4 to ensure all critical tracking was migrated.
• Identifying new tracking opportunities with the GA4 migration.
• Custom 4-page dashboard build, segmented by the airline's four core markets, enabled easy monthly reporting.

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The Tech

• Universal Analytics (UA)
• Google Analytics 4 (GA4)
• Google Tag Manager (GTM)
• Looker Studio

The Challenge

The airline faced several challenges with the GA4 migration, including:

• High complexity within their ecommerce website.
• Multiple data variables associated with booking flight seats.
• Mapping ecommerce and flight information into GA4’s data model and schema.
• Custom event tracking, such as flights by route type.
• Tracking and reporting website metrics and bookings by market.
  

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The Solution​

To address the airline's challenges, KARL Mission implemented a multi-stage approach.

1. Initial Audit:

• Reviewing the existing website and moving through various user checkout flows to understand the existing Google Analytics tracking and data model.
• Identifying gaps in tracking compared to the client’s reporting requirements.
• Identifying opportunities to implement additional tracking.

2. Gap Analysis & Tracking Plan Documentation:

• Creating a gap analysis document to visualize and communicate gaps in Universal Analytics vs. GA4 tracking.
• Collaborating with the client to build a tracking plan to finalize the GA4 tracking architecture.

3. Implementation and Configuration:

• Actioning all GA4 tracking changes and setup configurations.
• Reviewing Google Tag Manager tags, triggers, and variables to audit data collection flows.

4. Custom 4-Page Looker Studio Dashboard:

• Rebuilding the airline’s existing Looker Studio dashboard report with GA4 data.
• Segmenting the dashboard by the airline's four core markets.
• Advanced data blending in the dashboard to allow the airline to easily compare target marketing KPIs against actual KPI results.
• Continuity for monthly reporting through custom dashboard properties.

The Results​

KARL Mission’s analytics support delivered significant benefits:

• Full migration of Universal Analytics to GA4.
• Continuity for monthly reporting through custom dashboard.
• Advanced data blending in the dashboard allows the airline to easily compare actual results (GA4) versus pre-defined target marketing KPIs (Google Sheets).

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Need Google Analytics Support?

Note: As of July 1st, 2024, Google has shut down Universal Analytics. You will not have access to any current or historical Universal Analytics data, and most users will lose access to the interface and the API on this date. For some properties, it may take longer. If your UA property does not show in the interface, your property has shut down.

We know your data is important to you. If you have not created a GA4 property yet, feel free to reach out to us.